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Hosting & Infra

Cloudinary vs Coolify: Pricing Comparison 2026

Side-by-side pricing comparison of Cloudinary and Coolify. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.

Bottom line: Coolify starts at $5/mo, making it $94/mo cheaper than Cloudinary ($99/mo). Cloudinary offers a free plan.

Last updated: March 16, 2026

Data compiled by Arthur Jacquemin
Updated March 16, 2026

Cloudinary vs Coolify: Quick Pricing Facts

FeatureCloudinaryCoolify
Starting Price$99/mo$5/mo
Number of Plans42
Free TierYesYes
Pricing Modelfreemiumopen-source
Annual DiscountN/AN/A

Coolify is the more affordable option, starting at $5/mo compared to Cloudinary's $99/mo. Both are Hosting & Infra tools with 6 combined pricing plans and 59 features compared.

Both tools offer free plans, making them accessible for teams on a budget. Cloudinary uses freemium pricing while Coolify uses open-source pricing, which may affect your total cost at scale.

Review the detailed tier-by-tier comparison above to see exactly which features are included at each price point and find the best fit for your Hosting & Infra needs.

Pricing Plans
Cloudinary
Cloudinary
Try it free
Tier 1
FreePopular
$0/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Upload widget, API, and search
  • Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking
  • Image and video transformations
  • Video transcoding and adaptive streaming
  • High performance delivery through a CDN
  • Support — forums, tickets, and email
  • Access to free add-ons
  • Upload widget, API, and search
  • Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking
  • Image and video transformations
  • Video transcoding and adaptive streaming
  • High performance delivery through a CDN
  • Support — forums, tickets, and email
  • Access to free add-ons
  • Access to MCP servers
Start with Free
Self-hosted
$0/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Full access to all features
  • Need your own infrastructure for Coolify
  • No limitation or restrictions
  • Community support ((20k+) members)
  • Automated or Self-managed updates
  • Includes all upcoming features
Start with Self-hosted
Tier 2
PlusPopular
$99/month
Includes
  • Backup to your own S3 bucket
  • Auto-tagging based search
  • Access to free and paid add-ons
  • Expedited support
  • Allowlist/Blocklist asset access
  • Video Bandwidth Boost 2:1
  • Role-based multi-user administration
  • Backup to your own S3 bucket
  • Auto-tagging based search
  • Access to free and paid add-ons
  • Expedited support
  • Allowlist/Blocklist asset access
  • Video Bandwidth Boost 2:1
  • Role-based multi-user administration
Start with Plus
Cloud
$5/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Connect unlimited servers
  • Unlimited deployments per server
  • Free email alerts for Coolify events
  • Community + limited email support
  • Founder-tested updates
Start with Cloud
Tier 3
AdvancedPopular
$249/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Custom domain (CNAME) support
  • Optional HTTPS SSL Certificate
  • Authentication Options
  • Custom domain (CNAME) support
  • Optional HTTPS SSL Certificate
  • Authentication Options
Start with Advanced
Tier 4
EnterprisePopular
Custom pricing
Includes
  • Backup to your own S3 bucket
  • Auto-tagging based search
  • Access to free and paid add-ons
  • Expedited support
  • Allowlist/Blocklist asset access
  • Video Bandwidth Boost 2:1
  • Role-based multi-user administration
  • Security and compliance review
  • Multi-CDN and enterprise grade infrastructure
  • Enterprise SLAs and support
  • Designated customer success manager
  • Custom contracts and invoicing
  • User management (SSO, provisioning API)
Start with Enterprise

Swipe to compare plans →

Cloudinary

Cloud-based image and video management platform

View all Cloudinary plans

Coolify

Self-hostable open-source PaaS alternative to Heroku and Vercel

View all Coolify plans
Our Pick

Cloudinary

Cloudinary offers a free plan, offers 4 tiers vs 2.

Based on pricing data only. Review the full comparison below for your specific needs.

Best value: Cloudinary

Try Cloudinary free

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Cloudinary if:

  • You prefer Cloudinary's free tier features—Upload widget, API, and search, Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking
  • You need 4 pricing tiers for flexible team sizing—more options mean less overpaying for features you don't need
  • You want more features built-in—Cloudinary offers 37 additional features across its plans
  • Your team needs custom enterprise pricing—Cloudinary offers negotiated terms for large deployments

Choose Coolify if:

  • You want lower per-user costs—Coolify starts at $5/mo, saving $94/mo compared to Cloudinary at $99/mo
  • You prefer Coolify's free tier features—Full access to all features, Need your own infrastructure for Coolify
  • You prefer Coolify's open-source model with its 2-tier structure

Both Cloudinary and Coolify offer free plans [1], eliminating cost barriers for evaluation. This means you can test both tools thoroughly with your actual workflows before any financial commitment. The free tiers differ in scope: Cloudinary includes 15 features, while Coolify includes 6 features. Evaluate which free tier matches your evaluation needs before deciding to upgrade. Your best approach is to activate both free trials and evaluate which tool's workflow, integrations, and user experience align better with your team's needs before committing to paid plans.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Cloudinary vs Coolify

Which is cheaper, Cloudinary or Coolify?
As of March 2026, Coolify starts at a lower price point. Cloudinary starts at $99/mo while Coolify starts at $5/mo. However, the best value depends on the features you need at each tier.
How many pricing plans does Cloudinary have vs Coolify?
Cloudinary offers 4 pricing plans, while Coolify offers 2 plans. More plans typically means more flexibility to match your exact needs and budget.
Does Cloudinary or Coolify offer a free plan?
Yes, both Cloudinary and Coolify offer free plans. Compare the feature limits of each free tier to see which better fits your use case before upgrading.
What is the most popular Cloudinary plan?
The Free plan is Cloudinary's most popular tier, priced at Free. Key features include Upload widget, API, and search, Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking, Image and video transformations.
Does Cloudinary or Coolify offer custom enterprise pricing?
Cloudinary offers a custom-priced enterprise tier for larger teams. Coolify lists all its pricing publicly.
What pricing models do Cloudinary and Coolify use?
Cloudinary uses a freemium pricing model, while Coolify uses open-source pricing. The right model depends on your team size and usage patterns.
How do Cloudinary and Coolify compare for Hosting & Infra?
Both Cloudinary and Coolify are Hosting & Infra tools. Cloudinary offers 4 plans starting at $99/mo, while Coolify offers 2 plans starting at $5/mo. Review the feature breakdowns above to see which better fits your Hosting & Infra needs.

Sources

  1. Cloudinary Official PricingVendor pricing page
  2. Coolify Official PricingVendor pricing page

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